How to help

I'm not always able to follow up on what happens to dogs in the Medical Pets program, but here are a couple of dogs' stories:

Sugar, a boxer, had been attacked by a dog and suffered major bite wounds to her legs. One of the bites was so bad it fractured a front leg. She is all better and lives in a home with big brother Otis, also a white boxer. Otis is deaf, so Sugar gets to be his "hearing aid" buddy. Sugar's new mom wants to help the program that helped her little girl, so she is raising money for Noble Friends through her business. For every pair of Sole Printz paw-print flip flops purchased, she'll donate $2 to Noble Friends. Go to http://soleprintz.com/Buying-And-Giving/Puppy-Paws.html to purchase and for more information.

Brady, one of those cute, white fluffy dogs, had a fractured front leg. The leg has healed and Brady is living in his forever home.

More updates and information on animals in the Medical Pets program can be found on OC Animal Care's Facebook page, facebook.com/ocanimalcare.

Can you imagine having nine sewing needles and two screws in your body – none of them put there surgically?

When poor little Yoda came into OC Animal Care, the needles were embedded in his abdomen. The screws were in his stomach.

Yoda, a Chihuahua, weighed a mere 5 pounds. In a bigger dog, the metal items would have been dangerous but, perhaps, not quite as life-threatening. With Yoda, they were death waiting to happen.

The needles weren't staying put, by the way. According to the care center's adoption and Medical Pets programs coordinator, Tammy Osborn, the needles "were migrating all over his body and into his organs."

Something had to be done.

Yoda was rushed into surgery, where a high-powered magnet was used to locate and fix the metal pieces. He nearly died during the operation when his heart stopped beating, Osborn wrote in an email.

But the surgeons fighting to save this little boy fought a little harder, and Yoda made it.

After that, it was intensive care for a week because the little guy needed to be monitored and on oxygen 24/7.

"Saving his life was very expensive – $9,500 – but he is worth every penny when you see his little tail wagging," Osborn wrote. "We are hoping for an event-free recovery, so he can find his new 'furever' home."

Yoda isn't the only animal to receive life-saving care thanks to donors who have helped the shelter's medical needs program.

June Bug is a terrier mix who on June 20 was hit by a car in Santa Ana. A good Samaritan who witnessed the 8 a.m. event has been following her story and is raising the funds to take care of her medical needs. June Bug, aka Agnes, even has a fundraising page, which has reached its $850 goal. In the accident, her pelvis was fractured and she incurred injuries to a hind leg, according to OC Animal Care's Facebook page. Like Yoda, June Bug is looking for a permanent home where she will receive love, kindness and the good life all animals deserve. Her fundraising page (youcaring.com/pet-expenses/agnes-homeless-dog-hit-by-a-car-fractured-pelvis/68003) even has a video of her getting along on three legs after surgery.

The medical needs program at OC Animal Care has helped many animals receive needed help that allowed them to recover and find permanent homes. It's a case of need meeting desire to help, and it's a way for people who want to help homeless animals do so if they have neither the means nor the temperament to rescue, foster or adopt.

Not everyone has those means. It's kind of easy for those of us who do rescue to say, "Sure, I'll take on that 16-year-old dog with mammary tumors and keep her safe and comfortable until her time to pass comes, unless I can further help by providing care that will heal her." But we don't have the resources to do that. Neither does OC Animal Care – or any other shelter I know of. We all have to seek funding to help us help the critters who can't help themselves – critters like June Bug and Yoda and other animals like Arthur and Felix, other animals in the shelter's medical program.

Donations to help the medical program are tax-deductible because they are given to Noble Friends Foundation for OC Animal Care. Noble Friends collects donations – and there are needs besides money; check out noblefriendsfoundation.org for other ways you can give – and helps pay for surgeries, medications and more.

"The bank is empty due to Yoda's unexpected expenses, so we will have to slow down the Medical Pets program until we get caught up," Osborn wrote.

Donations will help the shelter get caught up and provide care for needy animals. Donations can be big or small, but every dollar helps.

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